College frames an environment where
people from many backgrounds come together to become educated. Many incoming
students find their first taste of the queer community and of a safe space in
this framework. Higher education won’t be an option for many LGBTQ students, however,
as cost of attendance limits the ability to afford progressive thinking.
“Students now graduate with $25,000 in outstanding loans, on average, and the
total amount of student loan debt in 2012 is likely to pass the $1 trillion
mark. (Valencia, 2012)”
Even so, people of different
backgrounds, racial, ethnic, religious, and marginalized communities based on sexual
orientation, gender identity and expression attend college in search of
opportunities to find a more secure and safe society. Working toward a degree
empowers both the individual and their entire community with the idea of
“passing it forward” and giving back to the community that gave them acceptance
and guidance. Programs like the Point Foundation, with scholars “41 percent who
are people of color, and 21 percent transgender or gender-variant” allow for students
to gain opportunities to re-contribute and foster improvement in society
(Valencia, 2012).
Unfortunately, many students know
the challenging climate of school before entering higher education and simply
finishing high school can be a challenge. In a study titled Hostile Hallways II: Bullying, Teasing and
Sexual Harassment in School, 83% of girls and 79% of boys reported been
sexually harassed with half of them expressing negative impacting their
emotional and educational lives (Stein, 2007). Also, Harris Interactive and GLSEN
3 published stating one third of teens report being harassed die to
perceived sexual orientation (Stein, 2007).
With many students feeling unsafe,
“gay bashing” has become a right of passage. Theo Van Der Meer interviewed 30
gay-bashers in the Netherlands and concluded that assaults were considered to
be a passage into masculinity (Van Der Meer, 2003). Male socialization and
development becomes problematic in that sense. Children are growing up
believing that hurting people gains them a status; naturally these children are
likely to target a person who is disadvantaged or different.
Campaigns such as Dan Savage’s “It
Get’s Better” allow one generation and many allying communities to help another
through support and guidance. LGBTQ students are going to college because they
want to make it better for others; this desire to progress really inspires the
community to stand up to adversity. College is a more rewarding right of
passage by helping people who were once the lowest of low, rise to help others
rise in their effort to pay it forward. Access to higher education is a tool
that ultimately builds solidarity and safety for LGBTQ students.
Stein,
Nan. "Bullying, Harassment and Violence Among Students." Radical
Teacher. 80. (2007): 30-35. Print.
Valencia,
Jorge. "College Makes It Better for LGBT Youth, the LGBT Community, and Society."
Huffington Post. (2012): n. page. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jorge-valencia/college-lgbt-students_b_1229509.html>.
Van Der
Meer, Theo. "Gay Bashing: A Right of Passage?." Health &
Sexuality. 5.2 (2003): 153-165. Print.
I love the message you are sending when you comment that “college is a rewarding right of passage” because it helps members of the LGBTQ community rise above oppression, and allows them to do it in a safe space. I strongly agree that college and university campuses are a relatively safe space for students of the LGBTQ community, but I also think that the homophobia on higher education campuses is largely ignored. In Homophobia, Why Bring It Up? explains that “[elementary, junior high, and high] schools are virtual cauldrons of homophobic sentiment, as witnessed by everything from the graffiti in the bathrooms and the put-downs yelled on the playground, to the heterosexist bias of most texts and the firing of teachers on no other basis than that they are not heterosexual” (Smith 101). Our society has such deeply entrenched values that have harbored anti-gay sentiment in our society throughout history, and these sentiments are especially seen in schools because younger kids have a harder time putting themselves in other peoples shoes, so they are quicker to judge and bully. With the majority of children growing up in schools like these, it is no doubt that these sentiments are brought onto college campuses by students every year. College campuses have a reputation for acceptance of the LGBTQ community, and for good reason. Colleges are known for employing various outreach programs, and are centers of activism for the fight for gay rights, but that does not mean that these campuses are completely free of homophobia. College campuses are a great step in the fight for gay rights, and to make them an even safer space, we should stop ignoring the fact that homophobia is still a problem on college campuses.
ReplyDeleteBy: Emilee Boucher
References
Barbara Smith. “Homophobia: Why Bring it Up?” The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader. ed Henry Ablelove et al. New York & London: Routledge, 1993.
I do think that higher education is a great place for individuals to “find themselves.” I have gone through fazes in my life where I have questioned my sexuality. At UCSB, I have been able to establish myself as a member of the LGBTQ community. Back home, there is no “gay” community, at least I am not aware of one. In high school, I was a cheerleader and began to find my sexual orientation. I felt discriminated against because the male population had a romanticized idea of what a a lesbian or bisexual should look like and act like. I was never bullied, my friends did, however, tease me about my decision. Since graduation, I have started slowly telling the people I still keep in touch with from high school about my emergence in the LGBTQ community. I don’t know why, but now the ones who teased me two years ago, are now accepting of what I have to say. One possible reason for this phenomena is the fact that most people who go to college learn about the oppressions others feel, either from a class they have taken or an activity in their residence hall. I know for me, I learned much more about minorities than I had known a few years ago. My opinion about people and privileges are constantly changing and I attribute it to my education at UCSB.
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ReplyDeleteIn response to Emilee Boucher's comment:
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the initial post I felt the same way that you did when you stated “…to make them [colleges] an even safer space, we should stop ignoring the fact that homophobia is still a problem on college campuses.” While I think it is vital to realize that many colleges and institutes of higher learning throughout our nation do have a very large, open, and safe community for LGBTQ individuals and their allies, it is increasingly important to realize that there are still forms of homophobia and non-inclusivity for certain subcultures of queers.
In Mary Gray’s article “From Wal-Mart to Websites” she asserts that queers in a rural environment are misinterpreted and presumed to have social interactions what are “unsustainable or poor imitations when compared to an urban queer scene” (57). That being said, we can draw on this argument to see the missing body of inclusion for the understanding of rural queerness. While this is not typical definition of what most individuals assume to be homophobic behavior, it is still a form of oppression due to the lack of understanding for how the rural operate and their form queering behavior. This problem must be addressed in urban areas and particularly in higher learning institutions if we want to better and fully serve the needs of all LGBTQ individuals on college campuses, and throughout the United States overall.
Gray, Mary “From Websites to Wal-Mart: Youth, Identity Work, and the Queering of
Boundary Publics in Small Town, USA” from American Studies, Vol. 48, No. 2,
Homosexuals in Unexpected Places? A Special Issue (Summer 2007), pp. 49-59